FMLA

Are telecommuters part of FMLA head count?

03/13/2009

Employees are eligible for FMLA benefits if they have worked for their employer for a total of one year and at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months. The criteria don’t stop there. Employers must comply with the FMLA if they employ 50 or more workers within 75 miles of the employee’s workplace. But what if some of those employees work out of their homes?

Your FMLA obligation ends with forms and notice

03/12/2009

Employers have to let their employees know about the FMLA so they can take advantage of the leave guaranteed by the law. But if an employee doesn’t take advantage of his FMLA rights, the employer can’t be held liable for not providing leave even if it turns out the employee was eligible.

Place employee on ‘provisional’ FMLA leave while seeking 2nd, 3rd certifications

03/12/2009

Employers don’t have to blindly accept their employees’ medical certifications. The FMLA allows you to get a second opinion about whether an employee’s request qualifies for leave … If the two certifications don’t agree, you can get a third and final certification to break the tie. But what happens during the interim?

5 policy issues will shape HR—and nation’s economic recovery

03/10/2009

Major policy issues being debated in Washington will likely change the face of HR this year, according to speakers at the SHRM’s 2009 Employment Law and Legislative Conference. As a new Democratic Congress gains legislative traction and the Obama administration begins making policy, those issues could also be key to reversing the fiscal meltdown.

You can rely on ‘negative’ FMLA certification

03/09/2009

Sometimes, employees think they’re sick enough to qualify for FMLA leave, but their doctors don’t. Other times, medical staff filling out the medical forms makes mistakes. Either way, if you get a certification or doctor’s note explaining that the employee can work, you are under no obligation to get more information. Instead, you can rely on that “negative” FMLA certification and deny leave.

Take it seriously when doctor limits employee’s duties

03/09/2009

Employers ask for trouble when they ask workers to violate doctor’s orders. Train supervisors to honor medical restrictions. It will help the company in workers’ comp cases as well as ADA and FMLA situations. The following case illustrates the perils of playing fast and loose with physician certifications recommending light duty.

Worker not returning from FMLA leave? Terminate, but pay benefits for full 12 weeks

03/06/2009

What should you do if you learn that an employee who is out on FMLA leave will not be able to return when her 12 weeks of unpaid leave are up? If you are absolutely sure that she can’t claim she is disabled under the ADA, you can terminate her. But you still must continue providing any benefits she was receiving while on FMLA leave, such as medical premium payments.

Who is a ‘key employee’ under the FMLA?

03/03/2009

Q. The Department of Labor’s form for the Employer’s Response to Employee Request for Family or Medical Leave (WH-381) inquires whether the worker is a “key employee.” How should I mark those boxes? I consider most of our workers to be key employees, and I do not want to offend anyone by suggesting that they are not.

Forget FMLA absences when rating employee attendance

02/24/2009

Employers aren’t allowed to count absences covered by the FMLA when they discipline employees. That’s why it’s important to segregate any such absences from performance reviews and any discussions about attendance.

When FMLA leave is denied, damages can add up fast